[Tweeters] 5/6 King County Big Day Trip Report (long read)

[Christian Hagenlocher]

Trip Report King County Big Day 
Saturday May 6, 2023


This past Saturday Matt Dufort, Adrian Lee, Raphael Fennimore, and myself (Christian Hagenlocher) met at Marymoor Park shortly after 3am to embark on a King County Big Day. Weather conditions looked dreary for the day, with early morning showers dampening our optimism that we would break the incredible King County Big Day record of 137 species, set in 2018 with a team of talented birders, including Adrian, Matt, and Spencer Hildie and Scott Ramos. While setting a record wasn’t the goal, that number was the silent benchmark in the back of our mind’s as we purposefully moved through the county, adapting our strategies on the fly to hit as many hotspots with a variety of habitats, hoping for close to 130 species. 
	Marymoor Park was slow birding, with heard-only Killdeer, American Robin, and a Great Blue Heron all before 4am. Although we quietly listened for owls, we didn’t hear or see any, despite our hope of encountering a Western-Screech Owl or Barn Owl.
We quickly moved on, picking up some heard-only Virginia Rail and Sora at a marsh, missing our attempts to find owls elsewhere before the dawn chorus began. Shortly after 4:30 am as the sky grew lighter our numbers began picking up as we could detect more species as they started to sing. Tree Swallows and American Robins were both quite vocal, joined by Song Sparrows as the ambient light increased. In the interest of time, we kept moving.
Driving up to Stossel Creek, Matt spotted a Ruffed Grouse in the road, which flushed to a nearby branch for great views. This species is not always an easy pickup in King without some effort, so we were glad to see a second bird soon after further down the trail. As we made our way higher in elevation, it was nice to hear singing Varied Thrush. A tooting Northern Pygmy-Owl was our first owl of the day. We were pleased to encounter a small flock of warblers which included MacGillivray's, Black–throated Gray, Townsend’s, and Wilson’s. We also had a newly-arrived Hammond’s Flycatcher singing, which was a first-of-year (FOY) for some of us.
On our drive down the mountain we had a Barred Owl conveniently perched along the power lines, actively hunting the roadside on our way to the Stillwater Unit of Snoqualmie Wildlife Area. In the next hour and a half we picked up over 50 species, including a single Common Loon flying overhead. Two Dusky Flycatchers were briefly seen by some and heard by all of us, which was a fun addition to our day’s growing total. It was a treat to get a good look at a wet Sharp-shinned Hawk perched along the trail, and pick up several other raptors who, like us, were hoping things would dry out as the sun got higher in the sky.
Birding the Snoqualmie Valley from Duvall heading south yielded good waterfowl diversity, including Cinnamon Teal, and Northern Pintail among others. With some close attention, we picked out six different species of swallows, which were forced to feed low over the fields and ponds due to the low weather ceiling and storms moving in. 
We knew shorebird numbers haven’t been great this year, and struggled to find species outside the norm, but were happy to find a Solitary Sandpiper for the day along W. Snoqualmie River Rd, along with a good assortment of raptors, and our first Vaux’s swifts for the day. We found good numbers of American Pipit as well. 
Despite our stop at Sikes Lake not being long, it was nice to pick up different sparrow species as we watched a trio of Northern Harriers hunting the marshlands. Turkey Vultures took to the skies around 10:30 am, and we carefully checked all soaring raptors with the expectation of finding a migrating Swainson’s Hawk. Five Common Loons flew over together, flying below the clouds towards the sound. With increasing numbers of Vaux’s swift, we scanned for Black Swift, which would have been a great pickup, but today wasn’t the day.
A brief stop at Tote Bridge netted us two American Dippers in the river, as we worked our way south towards Piano Ranch, where Matt spotted a Yellow-headed Blackbird, and Adrian heard Lesser Goldfinch further north, before we all found them at the expected bend in the road near the ranch. Do keep an ear out for these goldfinches as they seem to be more prolific in King county this year! 
Our next major stop was M Street Marsh and Emerald Downs, where we picked up Spotted Sandpiper and our last few freshwater duck species, and a surprise Merlin hunting over the stables on the opening race day for the season. We didn’t stay long due to the traffic, and better birds beckoning further north in the Kent Valley!
We kept our eyes to the sky in the afternoon as we worked our way through multiple area hotspots, adding only a handful of new species. By this time we’d broken 100 and needed to head towards Puget Sound in order to finish off the easier birds before dark. Raphael’s keen eye pulled out a beautiful dark Swainson’s Hawk soaring overhead at our last stop in the valley before heading to Saltwater State Park.
The rain arrived as we scoped Puget Sound, checking off a lingering Common Goldeneye, all three grebe species, and all three cormorant species to our day list. Several quick stops on our way north to Alki produced Harlequin Ducks and Surf Scoters. We were bolstered by the boom of new birds to our day list, but the record still seemed unlikely. Nevertheless, we kept birding.
Arriving at Union Bay Natural Area, our pace had slowed down as the morning’s caffeine had worn off, and the drizzle dampened our spirits. The birds we knew we had left were unlikely, but with an observant band of birders we knew we were up for the task. Scoping through dozens of Lesser Scaup on Lake Washington produced one Greater Scaup (good pick, Matt!) a FOY Long-billed Dowitcher flyover surprised us all as it headed north (great ear Adrian with the call note!) and both Cedar Waxwing (Matt) Green Heron (me) and Western Wood-Pewee all helped boost our morale. We left the fill after sunset, and decided giving Discovery Park our last effort could be worth it. Could we break the record? We were close…
We made our way directly to West Point, hoping to detect the California Quail we had seen there earlier in the week. Raphael had some insight to where he thought it was roosting, and high-fives were exchanged when we did find it in our flashlights! While it was dark, the crepuscular glow was enough to scope the sound, which was nearly devoid of any birds, except for a flock of Brant resting off the point. A flock of Sanderling on the beach was another fabulous flashlight find! Leaving West Point, we had great looks at a Barn Owl hunting along the road which was a spectacular finish to the day. We didn’t hear any Great Horned Owls or Saw-whets, but it wasn’t for lack of trying!
Overall, it was a great adventure, the first time birding together for this committed group! We all ended this marathon day very tired, and more appreciative of one another as birders and teammates. Matt’s expert planning, Adrian’s keen ears and enthusiasm, Raphael’s knowledge and insight of some great spots, and my own attempt at eBirding everything all played a role in such a spectacular and special day birding. I can certainly say I’m more knowledgeable about King County and forward to having time to continue exploring and birding here! We ended the day with a total of 140 species. A very big day indeed!

 If you made it this far, thanks for reading! 

Good birding,

Christian Hagenlocher 
Seattle
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